BusinessDay
Abubakar Ibrahim
August 4, 2026
The global clean energy transition has continued to record a rise to a new investment frontier that extends well beyond solar farms and panel manufacturing.
As governments race to triple renewable energy capacity and investors pour billions into photovoltaic (PV) projects, another market is quietly taking shape, the recovery of valuable materials from retired solar panels.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) warned that unless countries move quickly to develop recycling infrastructure and circular economy policies, the industry risks replacing one environmental challenge with another.
However, for investors, the coming wave of end-of-life solar panels could unlock a multi-billion-dollar market spanning recycling, critical minerals, logistics, advanced manufacturing and green infrastructure.
“Circular economy principles, such as ‘reduce’, ‘reuse’ and ‘recycle’, play a key role in promoting the sustainable management of end-of-life solar PV,” IRENA said, adding that recovered materials can be used to manufacture new products while reducing dependence on virgin resources.

Here are 10 takeaways investors should watch.
A massive solar waste stream is coming
IRENA projected cumulative end-of-life solar PV panels will exceed 200 million tonnes by 2050, while annual waste generation will rise above 25 million tonnes.
Solar PV waste, currently a negligible share of global electronic waste, is expected to account for more than 21 percent of total e-waste by weight by mid-century.
“The global annual volume of end-of-life solar PV panels is projected to surge to over 25 Mt by 2050,” the report said, describing the figures as evidence of an urgent need to invest in transport and treatment infrastructure.

Solar waste could become a $20 billion resource industry
Rather than viewing retired panels as waste, IRENA sees them as a future source of industrial raw materials. Recovered glass, aluminium, silicon, copper and silver could generate more than $20 billion annually by 2050, creating opportunities for recyclers, refiners and manufacturers.
“Recycled and recovered PV materials include glass, silicon, aluminium, and valuable metals like silver and copper,” the agency noted.
Critical minerals remain central to the investment story
The solar industry is becoming an increasingly important consumer of industrial minerals. In 2024, it accounted for about 35 percent of global silicon demand, 29 percent of silver demand and more than 31 percent of antimony demand.

Although IRENA said material shortages are unlikely in the near to medium term, it cautions that “supply chains can be disrupted by trade barriers and geopolitical tensions,” highlighting the strategic importance of recycling and supply-chain diversification.
Recycling infrastructure is far behind where it needs to be
Most countries still lack dedicated systems for collecting and processing retired solar panels, with much of today’s PV waste ending up in landfills.
“The collection and treatment of existing end-of-life solar panels vary significantly across regions,” IRENA said, noting that only a handful of markets have established dedicated policy frameworks and recycling infrastructure.
Regulation will increasingly shape investment decisions

The report expected governments to strengthen regulation through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), mandatory take-back schemes, landfill restrictions and incentives for recycling.
According to IRENA, EPR policies have already proven effective in defining “the financial and implementation responsibilities for the takeback and treatment of end-of-life solar PV panels.”
Circular business models will gain a competitive edge
IRENA argued that recycling alone will not be enough. The industry should also design panels that use fewer materials, extend product life through refurbishment and develop viable second-hand markets.
However, it noted that “the industrial sector has invested more in recycling than reuse,” suggesting significant room for innovation in refurbishment and remanufacturing.

Material demand will continue to rise despite efficiency gains
Manufacturers have significantly reduced the amount of material used in each solar module, but the scale of future deployment means overall demand will continue climbing.
By 2030, annual solar module production will require more than 31 million tonnes of materials, including 24 million tonnes of glass, 2.8 million tonnes of aluminium and 0.9 million tonnes of silicon.
Africa presents an early-stage opportunity
Sub-Saharan Africa already generates an estimated 10,000-12,000 tonnes of end-of-life off-grid solar products.

Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda have begun developing formal recycling partnerships, but IRENA says additional investment and international support are needed to expand sustainable recycling systems across the region.
Recycling is becoming an ESG imperative
The report warned that growing demand for virgin minerals could intensify biodiversity loss, pollution, water scarcity and conflicts with local communities.
It argued that expanding the circular economy can “reduce the demand for virgin minerals,” thereby avoiding some of the environmental impacts associated with new mining while strengthening supply-chain resilience.
The biggest opportunities belong to early movers

Most installed solar capacity has yet to reach retirement, giving governments and businesses a limited window to prepare before waste volumes accelerate in the 2030s.
“A holistic policy framework is needed to overcome these barriers and enable the circular economy for end-of-life solar PV panels,” IRENA said, adding that innovation, digital tracking systems, financial incentives and international cooperation will all be critical to building a sustainable market.
The report’s central message is that the solar industry is entering a new phase. As the global fleet of solar panels ages, competitive advantage will increasingly depend not only on deploying renewable energy but also on recovering the valuable materials embedded within it.
For investors, that shift signals the emergence of a circular economy that could become one of the clean energy sector’s next major growth markets.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date

source